Maryland schools superintendent to step down

Lillian Lowery has served on the job since 2012

Maryland public schools Superintendent Lillian Lowery is stepping down, WBAL-TV 11 News reporter Tim Tooten first reported. Lowery is leaving to become president and chief executive officer of FutureReady Columbus, an education non-profit corporation. The Maryland Board of Education has appointed Dr. Jack R. Smith as interim state superintendent. Smith will serve the remainder of Lowery's term, which ends June 30, 2016.

Lowery is leaving to become president and CEO of FutureReady Columbus, an education nonprofit corporation in Ohio, starting Sept. 14. Up until Friday morning, Lowery had made no mention of her plans to leave. Her four-year Maryland contract signed in 2012 was set to run out June 20, 2016.

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The Maryland Board of Education has appointed Dr. Jack R. Smith as interim state superintendent. Smith will serve the remainder of Lowery's term. Smith is currently the deputy state superintendent for teaching and learning. He is also the chief academic officer at the Maryland State Department of Education.

There was no word on when the state will launch a national search for Lowery's replacement.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan called Lowery "a dedicated public servant who has devoted her career to bettering public education and who worked to give teachers and students the tools they need for success."

“We are losing an extraordinary leader, a talented state superintendent of schools,” Maryland State Board of Education President Guffrie Smith said in a statement. “Dr. Lowery led Maryland through a time of tremendous transition and progress. She positioned our state as a national leader in preparing students to be college and career ready.”

"While we have had deep policy differences with Dr. Lowery on how the overemphasis on testing impacts students and educators, we appreciate her interest in engaging educators in collaborative efforts to improve professional development and student learning objectives," said Betty Weller, the president of the Maryland State Education Association.

"I think she was a very progressive leader, and she really put things in motion for us as a state, so I know that we will miss her as educators," said Laurie Namey, who is supervisor of equity and cultural proficiency at Harford County Public Schools.

"I think she's going to do well wherever she goes," said Barbara Smooth, a state education employee.

Lowery's resignation came three days after she chaired a monthly board meeting.

"There's always room for improvement, so it is a matter of meeting with people and talking with people and trying to focus in on those targeted areas where we really need to have that laser-like focus," Lowery said in 2012.

Lowery also promoted a number of statewide programs, from STEM to computer science.

Before that, she was the superintendent of schools in Delaware's largest school district, Christiana, where she closed a $17.5 million fiscal deficit and led the district back to solvency, according to the state's education website.

Lowery has also worked as assistant superintendent for Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, and she was a school building administrator and English teacher in school districts in Virginia and North Carolina.